When to Take Pregnancy Test and Reliability

When to take pregnancy test

Although many manufacturers claim that you can carry out a home pregnancy test one week after the unproctected sex, it is hard to get reliable result in this way. This is because it will take some times for the sperm to meet the egg, some more times for the fertilized egg to be transported to the womb and pregnant women's body to secrete sufficient HCG to be detected by the pregnancy test kit or paper.

In general, you should wait until your period is due before carrying out your pregnancy. If you can wait or do not want to waste the test kit, you can consider taking the pregnancy one week after missing the period. This can ensure reliability of the result.

Pregnancy Test Method

Other than following the instructions on the manual that comes together with the pregnancy test paper, you should carry out the pregnancy test at least seven days after sex or on the day when your menstruation is due. If you carry out the pregnancy test too early, the test result will not be accurate and you just waste you pregnancy test kit.

Normally the instruction manual will teach you how to dip the kit or paper into the urine sample and how long you should wait before checking the pregnancy test result. You must strictly follow as instructed. If you forget to check pregnancy test result on time, what you see may not be reliable.

Pregnancy Test Result Reliability

Typically, urine sample plays a part in the reliability of the pregnancy test. The first urine after you wake up in the morning is most suitable for this test, the result obtained will be more reliable. The water or fluid you drink may dilute the level of HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in the urine and may make the pregnancy test result unreliable.

What to do after Pregnancy Test?

Once pregnancy test paper indicates that you are pregnant, it is recommended that you do a confirmation check at the gynecological clinic or hospital. There, you can also ask the gynaecologist to perform the other necessary related health check.

Pregnancy Test: A faint positive line?

When you get a faint positive line, it is very likely that you are pregnant. It is faint probably due to relatively lower level of HCG in your urine sample. You may consider trying to test again may be two days later in the morning after you wake up. As your body produce more HCG, level of HCG in your urine sample will be increased further and further until it can be detected easily by the pregnancy test kit or paper.

Common Question On Pregnancy Test

Question 1: My last period was December 6th. For the last couple of weeks I've had period signs such as nausea, sensitive breasts (mainly nipples), cramps (which I've never gotten before my period), increased vaginal discharge and frequent urination. Last Tuesday I took two early pregnancy tests. Within the time limit I thought I could see a very faint line on each test. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because after 5-10 minutes I couldn't really see the line anymore. My friend could even see a faint line on the first one. I took a digital Thursday and it came up not pregnant. What do you think?

Answer: There is a high chance that you are pregnant. But the concentration of the HCG in the urine is still relatively low for the digital test to give you a positive result. I will suggest you to take one more two days later. Do it in the morning immediately after you wake up. Do not take any fluid before that to ensure accuracy of your pregnancy test.

Question 2: I carried out a pregnancy test on the date when my period was due, the result was negative. Is it possible for me to be pregnant?

Answer: It is possible for you to be pregnant. The HCG level in our body will gradually increase after the implantation of the fertilized egg. Sometimes, the increase is a bit slow and cause the pregnancy test to show a negative. As time goes by, HCG level in the urine will continue to increases and you can get a positive by then.

Question 3: Is blood test more reliable than a urine pregnancy test?

Answer: Generally speaking, blood pregnancy test will be more reliable that a urine pregnancy test. But take note, if the test kit or paper has not quality problem and you use the correct method, the urine pregnancy test is also very reliable and can be trusted.

Furthermore, blood pregnancy test has to be done at clinics or hospital and it is usually more expensive. If cost is a concern to you, I will suggest you to wait for a few more days before carrying out another urine pregnancy test.